[ENG] 2019 November Progress Report

I'm stuck at chapter 3 fighting Darius. I think it mainly because level gap (my Volga lvl 19, Darius lvl 28). Is this normal or is it because I use save file from demo ver?

So I've completed chapter 3 and I can honestly say that I want Kakalu and Tharsix as romance options.

have they done everything in chapter 3?

Any chance for Lambert's dating route to start up? I want him to do things to Volga :x

My biggest qualm about the game right now is that I want more and just can't get enough haha.

@I Dare Korval That is definitely something we have always wanted to add and one of the reasons Kurono made the NPC spreadsheet. We want to add more meaningful NPC dialogues that will help player understand the game or giving hint to some battles or how to deal with some difficult situations. Murvin's one is an attempt to do that, but after that we didn't have much time to polish more on this part. The fighting tree is a good idea. We've been suggested that once before so I might add it in the future. - Punipen

So Im curious. Have you revealed who is going to be the main rival / coliseum battle for this chapter? You've talked about 3 different character's battles but idk which to be looking forward to. Im personally hyped for Aquilo the most, he's always been one of my favorites alongside Cyrus and Lambert

Amazing progress report, and though these unique boss fights do have seemingly broken skillsets, I do enjoy a challenge. I've went through the entire game up until this point fully on extreme mode (Ow Mortir, Ow Darius, Ow Kailano), and it was a thrill in the process (which, side note, xp progression honestly still needs more work. Lengthy gem matching fights don't combine well with grinding at all). That said, hopefully their gimmicks are balanced enough to quell the people's wrath on how op they are (I know it'd mean less suffering for me on extreme mode XD) One more thing that I seriously want to ask: While I know this is just adding more things to your plate, have you considered dating system (or at least endings) towards some minor characters? After chapter 3, some of them have far more (borderline sufficient) character development to be Volga's potential relationship partner, and seeing them not date-able does feel injustice to them.

you're giving all these bosses crazy gimmicks, but where's volga's crazy gimmick

I have to admit, I'm disappointed in the direction the game is going. Why is the focus on making each boss more and more absurdly overpowered? Aquilo gets 2 attacks per gem match as his "unique trait"? You say he goes airborne for several rounds; if it is like other enemies that go airborne this means he will be immune to attack. Why isn't it unique enough that he gets to attack Volga while he himself is invulnerable? Why does the damage have to be unguardable?? Because he will be attacking Volga- between forced matches because there is no other play on the board, and cascades the player didn't want but the game triggered anyway, this move will be ripping Volga apart. Bind gems that are "hard" to remove? They already are often hard to remove, given how frequently they spawn in areas where there is nothing to match with them. Lambert gets to hide like a coward between a Golem, so not only will the number of HP on each of his health bars no doubt be higher than Volga's, but he also effectively gets more health bars than Volga's 3? Not to mention the Golem having even more effects canceling the player's moves. You guys really like tying the player's hands so there is no move they can make for some reason don't you? Tharsix gets an instant KO???? Am I the only one who thinks it is stupid to create a system where the player loses a fight just because the game spawns some stupid gem somewhere on the board with no potential matches? Or because you made the "mistake" of actually using your abilities, instead of just sitting on them on the chance you might need to break a pin? Joy. Just what the game needed-another mechanic to tie the player's hands and stop them from actually attacking Volga's opponent. It probably goes without saying that all of these moves will have ridiculously low costs to activate, so the bosses can use them over and over. And these are just their active skills-heaven only knows how overpowered their passive buffs will be. Meanwhile Volga doesn't get any moves/buffs that are close to being comparable to how powerful or useful his opponents' are. You devs seem intent on deluding yourselves that this is a strategy game. It really isn't. The single most important factor in determining who wins a fight isn't Volga's level (that's a joke, given the level cap), Volga's gear level, Volga's abilities, or any strategy. You really can't strategize too much since the board changes with literally every match, often in ways you can't predict when cascades start happening. You win or lose based on Pure Dumb Luck. If the game spawns the color gems you need and gives you good cascades, you win. If the game doesn't spawn the color gems you need or gives tons of cascades to the enemy, you lose. In my opinion, this obsession with adding more and more complications to Pure Dumb Luck-based combat is turning a reasonably fun game into a tedious pain.

Wonderful work! I like the design ideas behind the boss fights as you continue to make them unique wherever you can! Tharsix seems like he could be very dangerous so that'll make for a great fight! Also, random idea I thought of awhile ago that I never got around to mentioning. I think it would be interesting if the receptionist lady you talk to in the Coliseum for training or before fights was a secret lategame boss that could be triggered somehow. She would definitely seem like a magical-focused fighter that could blow you up if you're not prepared and since it would most likely happen outside of tournament hours, there would be no need for a punishment scene. It's a silly idea, I know, but secret bosses always felt like a staple for RPGs for me haha.

Love those ideas for Tharsix! Would be nice if we had art to go along with those mechanics but that sounds like extra work :P